Largest Renewable Natural Gas Project of Its Kind Implements Manure-to-Energy Technology Across Northern Missouri, Celebrates Construction Completion Ahead of Joint Venture's 10-Year Anniversary
Monarch Bioenergy, a joint venture between Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Roeslein Alternative Energy (RAE), has finished installing manure-to-energy technology on nearly all of Smithfield's Northern Missouri hog finishing farms.
The new technology captures methane emissions and converts them into carbon-negative renewable natural gas (RNG) to power homes, vehicles and businesses.
"We are delighted to reach this exciting milestone, which is a significant step toward fulfilling our commitment to implement this transformative, cutting-edge technology on the vast majority of our finishing farms in multiple states," said Kraig Westerbeek, vice president of Smithfield Renewables for Smithfield Foods. "Our Monarch Bioenergy manure-to-energy projects are making a significant environmental impact and remove 25 times more emissions from the atmosphere than are emitted during the clean energy's end use. Because of this, they are key projects in our Smithfield Renewables portfolio of innovative renewable energy and carbon reduction efforts across our operations."